As is generally known, it is of essential importance in beverage bottling processes that the beverages are bottled such that they keep as long as possible, i.e. bacteria, for example, must be prevented from impairing the keeping time of the products. Certain products, especially microbiologically susceptible products, require a heat treatment so as to achieve a sufficiently good keeping quality. In the case of some products a heat treatment of less than 100.degree. Celsius will suffice (this is referred to as pasteurization), in the case of other products temperatures exceeding 100.degree. Celsius must be applied so as to achieve a good keeping quality of these products. This is referred to as sterilization or autoclaving.
Other beverages, such as lemonades or mineral waters containing CO.sub.2, do, however, not require an increased temperature of the product at the time of bottling. When this type of beverages is bottled, it will suffice to take care that adequately hygienic operating conditions are guaranteed so as to be able to produce packages with keeping quality in the microbiological sense. However, if beverages containing alcohol and/or CO.sub.2 are of such a nature that specific microorganisms may develop and the beverages in question may, consequently, perish, they require an additional equipment of the plant for controlling these microorganisms, e.g. external rinsing, disinfection possibilities and sterile media. Such bottling methods normally comprise the bottling of products such as wine, champagne or beer and also microbiologically susceptible refreshing drinks containing CO.sub.2.
Finally there are so-called cold-sterile or aseptic bottling methods, which are actually the methods dealt with in the present invention. Normally, these methods are used for non-alcoholic beverages and for beverages containing no CO.sub.2. As far as this type of beverages is concerned, not only the classic beverage pests, such as yeasts, moulds, acetic-acid and lactic-acid bacteria, but also pathogenic bacteria (e.g. salmonellae) must be taken into account as pests causing the beverages to perish, especially in the case of products whose main characteristic is a pH value that exceeds 4.5. Hence, these bottling methods require a high-purity bottling process, i.e. in particular also special plants and special measures in the field of process engineering, especially ventilation measures, in order to guarantee a high-purity bottling process. The term "high-purity" in the sense of this application describes a bottling process in an atmosphere which contains only germs in the order of up to a few 100 per cubic meter of air, and especially less than 100; in the following, this will also be referred to as "ultraclean-room conditions". If the terms "clean" or "clean-room conditions" are, however, used, this means a number of germs in the order of 10,000, especially, however, less than 10,000 germs per cubic meter air.
The present invention refers to methods and apparatuses of this type. A characteristic of these methods and apparatuses is also that such methods are normally used for bottling products containing no preservative agents at room temperature and that the packages are not subjected to any thermal aftertreatment.
A known method of this type is described e.g. in European patent application 0120 789. In the case of this European patent application, the stream of bottles is first conducted to a first rinser in a building which is under clean-room atmosphere in its entirety. The area in which the rinser is arranged is under sterile air itself. The bottles are treated in such a way that they are ultraclean. Following this, the bottles are transported along an L-shaped transport path of considerable length through the clean room, whereupon they encounter a second rinser arranged in a room which is again under an ultraclean-room atmosphere. The germs and the bacteria which the bottles picked up on their way through the clean room from the first rinser to the second rinser are here e.g. neutralized. Subsequently, the stream of bottles moves into the filling machine, which is also arranged in the ultraclean room. In addition, a closing machine is provided in the ultraclean room downstream of the filling machine. Since the whole plant, comprising several rinsers with intermediate treatment paths, the filling machine and the closing machine, is arranged in a clean room or ultraclean room atmosphere in its entirety, this has the effect that the measures which have to be taken for observing the respective air conditions are very complicated and expensive. The large volumes of the rooms which must here be maintained ultraclean necessitate high operating expenses. In addition, it is disadvantageous that a second rinser must be used so as to neutralize the germs which the bottles picked up on their way from the first rinser to the second.